The Grimrose Girls

might dock this rating more in a minute

i had a lot of issues with the writing, the pacing, characterization, and much more. this book had so much potential to do good YA dark academia but failed to really wow me in any manner.

the representation in this book... doesn't really matter? ok nani is native hawaiian but you mention plumerias and her tūtū calls her mo'o and that's it? same thing with the queer rep, although relationships, sexuality and feelings are addressed which was kind of nice. super pointless tho

the mystery picks up after the halfway mark, and i can't honestly tell you what the point was of a lot of the first half of the book besides establishing that these girls are a grieving their friend's death.

the murder mystery plot was also poor. didn't really make a ton of sense even after the big reveal and villain monologue, and i get that this is the first book in a series setting a precedent for the rest of the books but damn was that lackluster.

overall very disappointing especially given the potential of a dark academia/fairy tales urban fantasy